


en rose

by lutzaussi



Series: wood and flower [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bonding Through Love of Plants, Flowers, Gen, Language of Flowers, Sakura is a Mokuton User, hanakotoba
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 05:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12810204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutzaussi/pseuds/lutzaussi
Summary: Ino never thought she would find common ground with Sabaku no Gaara, but life does have a way of surprising everyone.





	en rose

Ino was watching the Yamanaka flower shop, watering the flowers in the greenhouse when the bell on the door jingled. “I’ll be right with you,” she called, sets the water pitcher down. Her hands were a mess of soil and water and she took a couple of minutes to wash them thoroughly with the gracidea scented soap precariously perched atop one of the deep sinks.

Whoever entered the shop was quiet, and the only reason Ino knew that they were still in the building was by the shuffling noises of feet on the tiled floor.

“Can I help you?” she said.

A semi-familiar soft voice replied, from the glass case where the orchids were kept, “Yes, is the  _ cochleata _ for sale?”

“There are several immature ones that are, the ones in the gold and black pots,” she said, and a red mess of hair appeared from behind one of the displays of potted plants. Had Ino been holding something, she would’ve dropped it; as it was, her mouth did drop open and she squeaked. Sabaku no Gaara was standing in the middle of the shop, holding one of the mentioned orchid pots in his hands.

“Ah, uh, Kazekage-sama,” she stammered.

He afforded her a small smile. “Please, Gaara is fine. What sort of care does it require?”

“Oh,” she looked down at the potted flower as he set it on the counter in front of her, “Well, lots of light, generally they like to stay fairly damp with fast-draining soil, average room temperature. They don’t need a whole lot of attention. You wanting to buy one?”

“Please,” he made a small gesture to the pot he had chosen.

Ino half felt that she needed to insist on giving the plant to him for free, but he had already pulled out more than enough money to cover it.

“Taking it back to Sunagakure?” she asked, and when he nodded she packed it into a box with a see through top so it could get the sunlight it needed. She gave him a small spray bottle, as well, so he could mist the soil when it dried out.

“Gaara!” the front door slammed open, the bell jingling wildly. Kankurou rushed in, a panicked look on his face. “Oh, for gods sake, you can’t just disappear like that.”

“Kankurou-san, nice to see you,” Ino greeted him. He nodded in return, a mix of despairing and amused.

“Another one?” he asked his brother. Gaara just ignored him, bowed to Ino and took the packed orchid.

“Thank you for your patronage!” she called as they departed the shop.

Well, that was the weirdest interaction she’d ever had at the flower shop.

-

The next time Gaara came into the flower shop, Ino was nowhere near as surprised as the first time. She’s again the only person in the shop, because her parents gave the day-to-day running of it over to her when she had given up taking missions and lowered her hours at the clinic to only a few per week.

“How’s your  _ cochleata _ ?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear. She had been trimming the bonsai and had pine needles and miniscule leaves all over her.

“Thriving,” he said, giving her another one of those small smiles that seemed to come easily to him by then. “I had hoped to acquire another.”

“Same type? We did manage to acquire some other species if you wanted to branch out,” she gestured for him to follow her back into the greenhouse, where there had been added another glass room to serve as an orchid room.

They spent the better part of half an hour going through each of the species in the orchid room, discussing care and conditions. Ino didn’t know that Gaara was so interested in plants; it didn’t really makes sense, with his abilities and living where he did. Then again, she was somewhat excited just to have someone to talk about plants with. The only other person she really did talk about plants with was Sakura, and Sakura had been gone on meetings about inter-country politics for weeks.

Kankurou again arrived when Ino was packaging up a pair of Miltonias for Gaara. He didn’t say anything, just looked relieved that his brother was indeed in the flower shop and gave Ino a nod of recognition.

“Have you ever considered cactuses?” Gaara asked, giving the Miltonias to Kankurou to hold.

“No, not yet,” Ino leaned on the counter, propped her head on her hands, “there aren’t any natural varieties that grow in the area, so we’ve never had the chance to.”

“Hm,” Gaara looks like he’s thinking about something. “Thank you for your assistance, Yamanaka-san.”

“Just Ino is fine!” she calls after them as they head out.

-

Ino had the feeling that Gaara would be stopping by again. There was a summit in Konoha being hosted by the Hokage and all of the other Kage had been invited.

Nobody seemed to believe her when she said that Gaara would stop by to buy orchids, other than Sakura. Apparently when Sakura had visited Sunagakure to help train some of the medic-nin there before getting super involved in the running of Konoha, Gaara had shown her the greenhouse he kept, as she had seen the large ones maintained by the village before. She had a fairly good relationship with the Kazekage.

And for this summit, Sakura was actually in Konoha, not sent off on one of her stupidly long meetings or conferences. But that being the case, she was spending most of her time sleeping. When not sleeping, she was stopping by the clinic attached to the hospital to see how well it was working out.

So Ino sat at the counter of the shop, going over the sales numbers from a couple weeks before. Overall sales had being going up, which was satisfying.

The bell rang, and a familiar shock of red hair followed the opening door.

“Welcome!” Ino called, shuffled the papers together to put them away.

“Ah, good afternoon,” Gaara said, remaining by the door to hold it open so Kankurou could enter as well.

Kankurou had a box in his arms, and he carefully placed it down on the counter in front of Ino. Gaara was the one to open it, and he gestured for Ino to look inside.

The box had a set of small, matching pots, each one bearing a different plant. Half of them were small cactuses, the other half a mixture of succulents and other desert plants. Ino knew her eyes were comically wide, but she was suddenly very excited. Her love of horticulture and floriculture in particular had been on the backburner since going to the Academy, but now that she had all the time in the world that love had resurfaced.

“Are these for me?” she asked, a little breathlessly.

“You have been invaluable assistance whenever I come to visit,” Gaara said, his voice sincere. “I am thankful for your presence and for the ability to visit you, which I intend to continue doing.”

To say that her eyes were completely dry would be a lie. Gaara didn’t get close to people, except for maybe Naruto (and even that was debatable depending on the definition of “close”), so the gesture meant a lot. She gave him a beaming smile. “Thank you so much. I enjoy your visits; it’s nice to talk to someone who knows about plants.”

-

He stopped by again before they left back for Sunagakure, completely alone with no Kankurou running after him. After a few minutes of internal debate, Ino made them tea and invited Gaara back to the greenhouse to sit down and talk about plants.

Nearly an hour later, after being interrupted three times to roll bouquets and one time to put together a traditional arrangement, Gaara decided on a bonsai and two more orchids to take back to Sunagakure. Ino took care to wrap them well and wrote out the instructions for their care so Gaara wouldn’t have to try and remember them.

Right as she was giving him his change, the bell on the door rang.

“Oi, Ino,” Sakura called.

“Busy!” Ino replied, handing Gaara a receipt. 

“What?” Sakura rounded the display that blocked the door from the counter. “Ah, Gaara, nice to see you.”

“Sakura, always a pleasure,” he said in return, smiling to her.

“Ah, actually, would you mind helping us?” Ino said, gesturing to the pots. “You’re staying in the guest residences, right?”

“Yes, we are,” Gaara picked up the bonsai, “thank you for your assistance.”

The three of them, each holding a plant, walked the few streets over to the guest residences. Sakura and Gaara caught up with each others lives, discussing politics and news while Ino half-ignored them. Temari and Kankurou were at the house the delegation from Suna usually stayed at, and upon the appearance of Ino, Sakura, and Gaara they came out.

“We’re going to have to build a bigger hot house,” Temari said somewhat ruefully as she took one of the orchids from Ino.

“Always planned to,” Kankurou added, taking Sakura’s orchid. Ino couldn't help something like a snort. Gaara once again turned to thank the both of them, as did Temari and Kankurou, and the two of them turned back to the flower shop. Sakura slid an arm across Ino's shoulders as they walked.

"I'm glad he's making friends," she said.

"Me too," Ino agreed. "Oh. Why did you come into the shop?"

"Why did I...?" Sakura blankly looked at her as she unlocked the shop. "Ah! Yeah, I came to ask about you coming with me to Sunagakure in a few weeks to check on the progress they're making with the clinic. Tsunade doesn't want to go and she has her own duties, anyway."

"Figure out when for sure and I'll see if my parents will watch the shop for a few days," Ino said, slipping back behind the counter again. "I would enjoy that, though."

"Good, we could both use a vacation," Sakura smiled.

"Do you have meetings this evening?" Ino asked. Sakura's schedule didn't tend to make sense to her. Or Sakura. "I wanted to go out for dinner tonight."

"I'm going to check right now. I'll stop back by and let you know," Sakura said, leaning over the counter to press a kiss against Ino's cheek.

"Don't have too much fun!" Ino called as Sakura left the shop. That earned a smile and a wave goodbye.   
-   
Sakura did have meetings, and she was involved in them right up until they were scheduled to leave for Sunagakure. The entire thing irritated Ino, but there was nothing she could do about it.

On the other hand, their trip was leisurely, since they had a couple of weeks to get the job done, and Ino enjoyed every minute of it. It wasn't often that they got to leave the village at the same time, nor indeed that they got to leave it together. The weather was nearly perfect, warm but not hot, and dry. Their going was easy.

They were met once they entered the Land of Wind by an escort--Temari and a couple of other jounin that Ino vaguely recognized from the war. Getting to Sunagakure itself was quick, and once they were settled in the city they immediately went to check out the clinic, get the real work out of the way.

They had spent a good two months after the war in Konoha with medic-nin and social workers from other countries and hidden villages, training them to deal with people who had experienced trauma or just needed mental health help. Then Sakura and Tsunade had spent a further two months a year later visiting all of the countries and villages, making sure that they were working okay and putting together a training program that could be used.

Their involvement in it had lessened after a while, to the point that Ino was only ever called out to do periodical checks on the clinics with Sakura, while a council they had set up oversaw most of the regular business and problems. Sakura didn’t have much time to do stuff with the clinics, anyway, she was so busy helping run Konohagakure.   
The system was a good one, Ino decided, because there was nothing they needed to do or recommend in Sunagakure. It only took them a couple of days to decide that, which left them with a solid week with which to do as they pleased.

Ino hadn't been to Sunagakure since their chuunin exams, so they spent several days exploring. Much had changed in the city; the markets and bazaars were more robust, there was more greenery everywhere coaxed to life, and the people were much more lively. Once their explorations were done, Gaara made a special request for the two of them to visit him, not in the administrative building he worked in, but in the home that he and Kankurou inhabited in the center of the village.

Ino had a feeling she knew the purpose of the visit, and it excited her.

Sure enough, as soon as they made it to the house, Gaara invited them into the greenhouse that was attached to the side of the house. There he made them tea, and gave them a tour of the plants he grew with such pride.

It was a delight, to see all of the plants that she had sold to him thriving in his care. The orchids were nearly all in bloom; the bonsai were set outside on a small shadowed porch area. And all of the flowers, the deliberately shortened fruit trees that were heavy with produce--Ino could easily say that she could imagine herself living in that greenhouse. It was like a dream.

Sakura disappeared to visit the medical greenhouses while Ino and Gaara caught up, discussing plants and growing and all manner of things. It did strike her that their conversation, which normally would stick to plants and horticulture, branched out to other topics. Gaara told Ino a little more about himself and his siblings, brought up some upcoming projects that would be implemented in Sunagakure in the coming weeks and months. Ino shared as well, about herself.

It was a hell of a day; Ino wished that it could've lasted far longer than it did.   
-   
They visited one last place in Sunagakure before unhurriedly heading back to Konoha. It had been years since the chuunin exam they had participated in, but both of them still remembered them for one striking reason.

Ino was the one to grab Sakura and start dragging her down the shallow-set staircase that descended underground. It was more built up, with small stalls along the way selling food, and several living complexes built into the sides of the staircase, but they saw few people because it was rather late in the day.

"We were sort of dumb, back then," Sakura said as they came out of the staircase to a massive cavern that branched off in several different directions.

"I still thought I was into Sasuke," Ino said, snorted. She peeled her shirt off, did the same with her skirt before removing her underwear. Unlike their visit as teenagers, Sakura didn't even try not to look at her.

"Like I said, dumb," Sakura reiterated, pulling her own clothes off. Ino paused a moment to enjoy her wife's physique before Sakura slipped into the water of the underground lake. Ino followed her a moment afterward. They splashed a bit, but mostly just moved through the water, enjoying the quiet and the peace.   
-   
The next time Gaara came to the Yamanaka flower shop (now getting a second greenhouse built next to it), she was fully expecting him. Not because it was a summit or anything, no; she was expecting him because he sent her a bird telling her that he and Kankurou would be stopping by for a very important reason while they were in town. She itched to know what that reason was, but it seemed to be too important to share over messenger birds, so she was forced to wait.

When they did come into the shop, she was helping Hinata with specifics for an arrangement to go in the Hyuuga house, in one of their receiving rooms. As much as she appreciated Hinata, the woman could not arrange flowers to save her damn life.

Gaara browsed the potted plants, Kankurou hovering nervously after him, and once Ino had sent Hinata on her way with a bill and a promise to have the arrangement done the next evening, she pounced.

"So, what is the special occasion that calls for flowers?" she asked. Kankurou looked horribly distressed.

"He is looking to purchase a bouquet," Gaara said, one of his trademark small smiles on his face.   


"For who, may I ask?" Ino inquired.   


Kankurou appeared to be fully hiding behind Gaara, which was comical because he was nearly a head taller than his brother. He appeared to say something, but Ino couldn't hear it because it was spoken so quietly. She looked to Gaara, and he said, louder, "Aburame Shino."

Ino's eyes were akin to dinner plates but she didn't give a damn. Kankurou, giving flowers to Shino? She liked Shino, he often stopped by the shop to make sure that there weren't bugs infesting the flowers. She was also one of the few people living in Konoha actually interested in bugs, so they got along just fine. But--Kankurou?   


"I am guessing a romantic sort of bouquet?" Ino prodded.   


Kankurou continued looking like he wanted to die. Gaara nodded, went back to the bonsai.

“What sort of color scheme were you thinking of?” Ino ask.

Kankurou looks positively panicked. “I have no idea.”

“He wants anemones,” Gaara said, looking up from juniper bonsai he was inspecting, “camellias, yellow. And forget-me-nots if you have any.”

Ino raised both eyebrows, looked from Gaara to Kankurou. “That’s a lot of feelings,” she said, busying herself with picking out the flowers Gaara mentioned. Kankurou was nearly the same color as his oxblood face paint when she bundled up the bouquet, adding some filler to make it look bigger. “This is on the house,” she announced, tying it off and gently handing it over to him. He looked at the flowers like they were a bomb, ready to explode at any second. She almost felt bad for him, because he looked so terrified, but then she remembered her own experiences with Sakura and figured he would be fine. Hopefully.

Gaara gave him a quiet pep talk, and then gestured for him to leave the shop. He went, looking as if he went to his death instead of a love confession.

That left Gaara and Ino alone. It was a strange hour when typically there were few customers anyway, so Ino didn't feel bad about catching Gaara in a conversation about the cacti he left a couple months before. They were all doing well, and she had started to propagate some of the succulents to get them ready for sale. He had sent her some very interesting and helpful books on the care of all of the plants, which were helpful for actually keeping the plants alive.

She had a few books to give him, actually, ones that she'd found about growing plants in different climates, and so it was with actual intent that she invited him (as well as his brother) to the house that she and Sakura lived in for dinner. Including Shino in the invitation, because she really hoped that Kankurou would get lucky.   


"We would be delighted to," Gaara said in reply, and the smile on his face wasn't even small.   


True to his word, they arrived at Ino and Sakura's house that evening, right on time. Gaara brought with him no less than three melons, and behind him was Kankurou, walking close to Shino and caught in an intense discussion.   


It was, simply put, the best evening that Ino had had in months. They all talked with each other and Ino couldn't even remember if she'd had conversations of the sort with Kankurou and Shino. Likely not; it delighted her, though, and she made a mental note to ask Shino over or to the flower shop more often.   
After dinner, when they moved out to the back porch and were sharing some very good tea that Sakura had bought in the Land of Lightning, Ino's delight increased almost exponentially. Both Kankurou and Shino got involved in a very intense discussion about wood parasites with Sakura, leaving Gaara and Ino alone. She was not complaining; in fact, she highly enjoyed Gaara's company. He wasn't overly loud as some (Naruto, Kiba) were likely to be, and every word he said seemed to be carefully thought out and considered.   


By the time that their guests regretfully left, it was quite late, and Ino was very content to flop into her and Sakura's shared bed, leaving the few dishes that hadn't yet been cleaned for the next morning.   


"We are quite lucky to have such good friends," Sakura said thoughtfully, as she sat next to Ino.   


Ino pulled her, with some effort, down. With that, they were both laying on the bed, face to face, and Ino spent a moment admiring the pale green of Sakura's eyes. "Yes, we are. Maybe we should have them over for dinner again, before they leave. Invite Naruto and Sasuke."   


"And the kids?" Sakura asked. She sounded somewhat skeptical but, then again, she wasn't as well-acquainted with Gaara and Kankurou as Ino was.   


"Of course," Ino said in a mock-offended tone. In a more sincere one she added, "Gaara does like kids, he has that boy he's fostering back in Sunagakure, Shinki."   


"That is right," Sakura tucked her chin atop Ino's head, "very lucky."   


"Mm," Ino pressed a kiss to her wife's neck. "We are."


End file.
